This invention relates to burn treatment products and, in particular, to a burn treatment product that is useful for decreasing the temperature at the surface of a burn wound so as to lessen the extent of injury to a burn victim.
Numerous fire extinguishers or burn treatment products and devices are available. Of these, many of the fire extinguishers make use of asbestos cloth. Exemplary of such devices are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 360,998 issued to J. W. Cloud on April 12, 1887 and British Patent Specification No. 340,172 accepted on Dec. 24, 1930. However, it is now known that asbestos is an extremely carcinogenic material and its use has fallen into disfavor throughout the world.
Medicated pads and bandages for treatment of wounds, including burn wounds, are also well known. Exemplary pads and bandages are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,062,210; 3,089,492; 3,395,063; 3,624,224; 3,657,760; and 3,750,666.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,559 issued to Everingham et al on Sept. 2, 1975 discloses a fire fighting appliance. The fire fighting appliance includes a blanket-like carrier soaked in a viscous aqueous solution of a thickening agent. The fire fighting appliances disclosed are manually applied to a fire or to a burn victim.
The carrier is preferably a 100% pure new wool carrier having a specified yarn count, fabric structure and strength. The thickening agent solution contains a bactericide. One preferred bactericide is tea tree oil.
As disclosed in the patent, tea tree oil is a natural oil obtained from Melaleuca alternifolia, a tree that grows on the north coastal areas of the state of New South Wales and in southern Queensland, Australia. The principle active constituents of tea tree oil are 1-terpinen-4-ol, terpinolene, cineole, sesquiterpenes, p-cymene and pinene. Similar types of oils are obtained from allied species of Melaleuca such as Melaleuca lineariifolia and Melaleuca leucadendron.
Firefighting appliances and burn treatment products manufactured in accordance with this patent are currently on the market in the United States and throughout the world. Such appliances have been found to be useful not only for fighting fires but also for treatment and debridement of burns.
With respect to the treatment of burns, the main objectives are to relieve pain, prevent contamination and eliminate the source of heat. Dry dressings do not eliminate the heat source. In fact, dry dressings retain heat and cause the burn area to enlarge, thereby intensifying the severity of the injury. In addition, dry dressings provide little protection against contamination and pain and usually adhere to burnt clothing and skin tissue. A great deal of pain and skin damage can result from the removal of dry dressings.
Ordinary tap water has also been used in emergency situations, but it is not practical and only superficially eliminates the heat source. Furthermore, water does not rapidly penetrate through clothing or skin tissue. In addition, tap water does not provide protection against contamination and can even cause contamination. Tap water can also irritate exposed nerve endings causing intensified pain and discomfort. Finally, hypothermia can be induced by the use of tap water because water cools by evaporation.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an improved burn treatment product that has good bactericidal activity and that aids in the healing of burn wounds.